NEwbie

[malcolmph]

hi all

I have been on CPAP since last July. i have now got round to getting Encore Pro with the card reader and have download my first report.

Any help appreciated in fine tuning my therapy or indeed any constructive comments suggestions. images below. many thanks in Advance

[cflame1]

Your AI seems good, but your HI's are a bit high.

What was your titrated pressure (or did you have one)?

[gasp]

Did you actually go 33 days without using the machine? And what are all those gaps? Not scolding, just hope that everyone can use therapy anytime they are asleep and that they get a good night's sleep. Do you usually get close to 7 hours sleep or do you take off mask and return to sleep? It looks like you might take you mask off and sleep without the machine.

Your pressure range (from what little I know) seems like it may start too low and may not go high enough, however you didn't have a lot of data at the higher end of your range, so maybe your high end of the pressure range is OK. You have higher numbers and more time spent at lower pressure than I'm used to seeing so I wonder if the pressure is too low, your mask doesn't fit, it leaks, or ??? Someone with more knowledge can help you here.

The AHI looks acceptable. Popular belief is 5.0 and below is good, so 5.1 for the snapshot you gave isn't bad.

Your time in large leak makes me wonder if you have leakage issues that result in events which leads you to take off your mask during the night.

Snoring would indicate to me that your airway isn't open enough, so maybe you're not getting enough pressure.

I look forward to others contribution so I can learn too : ) I'm glad you can now see your numbers! Good job!

[malcolmph]

thanks for your input so far.. i am very interested in learning what i can from this..I am in Ireland and our health service is not quite what it could be so getting the information is alot harder.

i was prescribed the machine following an oximetery test and my symptom history...

i don't know what my pressures are, but i did have alot of trouble at the start with a full face mask then they changed me to a nasal mask, but i still occasionally take it off around 6/7am and sleep for a while without it..The sleep clinic nurse then adjusted pressures at the same time to see if i could get used to it...

I suspected that i am not getting full benefit of treatment, but perhaps now that i can read my own card and with forums like this i can make the adjustments required to get the full benefit required.

The 33 days without use is probably right as i didn't take it with me on holidays and then had flu for a while... it all add up.

Thanks again guys and I look forward to more input/suggestions/comments/advise... it all helps

[rjjayrt]

I'd like to encourage you to use your machine. Going on vacation is (respectfully) no reason to not use it. Your therapy will only be as good as your compliance with it. Your new to this and your non use (33 days) will make it more difficult to acclimate to your therapy. Those places where you see a red bar indicate that the blower on your machine was on but the mask wasn't being worn. Can't quite figure that one out. You should also sit down with your doctor or with someone at the sleep lab and have them re explain what there trying to accomplish with your therapy. You should also read a lot of the threads on this forum and ask alot of questions. People on here are vary knowledgeable and are willing to help.

[YawnGirl]

I am not a doctor...
But if it were me, I'd raise the minimum pressure to 8. Your spending most of your time there anyway and your major apnea's will be corrected quicker, lowering AHI.

[malcolmph]

can i just ask if it is possible to get some indication of the severity or not of OSA from this... there is a 1 1/2 years waiting list for a full sleep study and i cannot afford to pay for one privately and all the consultant would say was that the oximetery and initail trial was suggestive of OSA..

[rjjayrt]

severity of illness can be very suggestive. On a technical note from what I saw on your report, your highest AHI was 10. This number can be misleading because you had some pressure applied to your airway at all times. Most insurance companies use the AHI to determine medical necessity most but not all will tell you if your AHI is below 15 they won't cover it based on medical necessity, they do however relax that standard if theres excessive daytime sleepiness, increased epsworth scale or increased BMI. From what I understand from your post other than maybe the daytime sleepiness, we don't know what the other values are. On a suggestive note concerning severity, if you have excessive daytime sleepiness, increased fatigue, feeling tired all the time and due to this if affects your daily living, then subjectively it may be severe. If your time on cpap has made you feel better, and if tweaking your pressures will make you feel even better, then its worth it to wait. With the help of those on this forum, we can probably get your pressures tweaked pretty good. You need to provide as much history as you can combined with your downloads and with how your feeling when you make changes. None of what I've said is intended to mean you don't need followup and guidance from your physician, Brow beat him to death to get him to help you and keep coming back here...It will all work out if thats what you want, its just going to require some work on your part...Good luck, look forward to following your progress on here....

[gasp]

Malcolm, what is the pressure range you were prescribed and should be what your machine is set at?

[nussy]

Im following this tread with interest. I was diagnosed about 2 months ago and my AHI was 32. When I went for my second study with my mask my AHI went down to between 3 and 4 with the pressure set at 5.

The only difference I notice is that I dont wake up with a headache or have dry mouth at night. I still get up at night. I am very comfortable with the Nasal mask. The only problem I have is clogged nostrils (sometimes). My humidifier is set at 3 and there is no rainoff.

The sleep doc told me to see him next year.

[roster]

Im following this tread with interest. I was diagnosed about 2 months ago and my AHI was 32. When I went for my second study with my mask my AHI went down to between 3 and 4 with the pressure set at 5.

The only difference I notice is that I dont wake up with a headache or have dry mouth at night. I still get up at night. I am very comfortable with the Nasal mask. The only problem I have is clogged nostrils (sometimes). My humidifier is set at 3 and there is no rainoff.

The sleep doc told me to see him next year.

Please start a new thread and you will get help. Hijacking this one only causes confusion. And please don't apologize.

[roster]

I am not a doctor...
But if it were me, I'd raise the minimum pressure to 8. Your spending most of your time there anyway and your major apnea's will be corrected quicker, lowering AHI.

Yep. I would say 7 for a night or two and post the daily details reports - no need to post the others.

[malcolmph]

pressure range was set 4 - 12

I have increased min to 7 and max to 14.. i might switch back to full face mask tonight as my wife informed this evening that my mouth is open through the night.

will post the results tomorrow and thanks again all

[malcolmph]

Hi

I switched to full face mask last night but removed it about 6am for some reason...

report

[roster]

That was a fairly good night until you took the mask off. You might want to work on tweaking the mask/headgear/sleeping position to improve the leak line.

Which FF mask did you use?